The Adventures of the Pentapus
by Satiah
Summary: The soft, afternoon light was dim; the swirling water warm. Small families of hermit crabs scuttled contentedly along the banks, and my world turned upside-down. Slight Zutara.


_Avatar the Last Airbender_ © Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; Nickelodeon

...

The soft, afternoon light was dim; the swirling water warm. Soft waves splashed against the shore, and shifting tides flowed past in soothing strokes. Small families of hermit crabs scuttled contentedly along the banks, and my world turned upside-down.

I didn't know what was happening, but I found my sleepy self turned abruptly on my head, tossed about helplessly in thrashing, spitting streams of water. I couldn't get my bearings, couldn't orient myself in this tumultuous quake! I was repeatedly ripped under the surface, thrown hither and thither as the violent currents of my home awoke in such ferocious anger that I cowered and shuddered even as I sucked in gasping gulps of air. My flailing strokes couldn't keep my head up; my frightened eyes clouded as the earth revolved around me sideways, backwards, upside-down.

Finally, it ceased.

Shaken, I blinked away the lingering vertigo. My lungs ached, so I filled them with the sweet scent of the stormy air, thankful I was no longer sucking down mouthfuls of water. I breathed deeply and stretched out to keep my body afloat, but as I closed my eyes and supported myself on the surface of the water, I felt a powerful tremor begin to quiver the currents around me; I knew something else was coming. Curling defensively, I hugged my body and swayed amid the swirling waters as I felt the world around me shudder. I trembled in spite of my best efforts to remain calm.

In the blink of an eye I was thrown both ways sideways, ripped from the water, and found myself...flying? Tossed up and out, I spun through the air as time slowed down around me. Looking above, I saw the sky reach down, and I had the sensation that I could almost touch it if I stretched out just far enough. I was floating, immobile: a split-second frozen in time. I saw my home lying beneath me, its normally tranquil waters torn apart by a migrating line of giant beasts the likes of which I had never seen. I blinked, staring at them for just a moment longer before I felt the whistling wind scream past my arms, my ears, my face. My stomach dropped as I twisted, turned, and plummeted toward the enraged seas below.

I landed with a splash scarcely noticeable within the fury of this unnatural storm. I was again tossed aside by powerful waves, and I had never before felt so small! As I struggled and fought for breath and balance, I unexpectedly slammed into something solid: something big. I held onto its slimy surface with all my strength, fighting the currents so mercilessly thrown in my face. Giant waves washed over me, trying their best to suck me down into their unforgiving depths. I squeezed my eyes tight and held on, held on, held on.

...

I awoke in a harsh, cold world. Carried away from the comforting sloshing of my home, I found myself shivering in dry, dry air; my skin was prickling in discomfort. The slimy thing I held onto was no longer slimy, but warm, so I continued to hold on, drawing myself closer for comfort. I was afraid and alone, and I was finding it difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, five enormous, claw-like tentacles wrapped around my body, constricted, and _pulled! _I held onto my anchor of safety with all my strength, my arms aching and stretching taught. I was barely able to hold on, afraid I might slip, when a loud noise interrupted the wrenching claws. The noise sounded like a language of squeaks and grunts; I saw it came from the throat of some strange beast! But, the claws understood the language and I was released. I sighed in relief; hurriedly, I renewed my grip and clung to my anchor for dear life, afraid I might be yanked off if I was caught unprepared for another assault.

A smaller clawed tentacle reached for me, this one from the squeaking, speaking beast. I winced as its rough scales touched my air-sensitive flesh, and I cringed down lower, trying my best to get away while staying securely put. But the claws didn't hurt, didn't wrap, didn't squeeze, didn't seize. They rubbed me! They stroked my head and it felt so kind and warm and good that my toes curled and I happily released my grip on the not-so-slimy anchor-thing.

After I tumbled into the squeaking beast's hand, I noticed a friend of mine had also clung to the not-so-slimy anchor-thing, and I happily bubbled my relief at him. He looked frightened when the giant tentacles approached, but they were just as kind to him as they were to me. My friend soon joined me and we hugged, talking excitedly. Luckily, we were both returned to the waters of our home, and I could tell the giant, friendly beast was squeaking a goodbye even as we spoke our own.

...

The Spirits that guarded my home must have been offended by something I had done, because this wasn't turning out to be my day. I had scarcely recovered from the long swim back to my cozy little crevasse when I heard splashing and grunting from the direction I had just returned. I peeked out of my hole warily, but recognized the three beasts wandering toward me. Happily, I bounded out and swam toward them, thanking the friendly little squeaky one for saving me. Curious, my neighbors followed after me, and we floated in a welcoming group before the strange creatures. They grunted among themselves as we waited patiently for them to address us, but when they turned back, we found ourselves no longer floating freely in the warm water. We were scooped up and held captive in small, crowded containers. The beasts were stealing us away from our home!

Terrified, I tried to reach out to the creatures and beg them to let us go, but they did not hear my voice above the panicked shrieks of my friends. This was all my fault, and I couldn't find a way to fix it! Sinking below the others in defeat, I let the sloshing of the water push me around my enclosure as I waited for the great beasts to rest.

Our prison was eventually set down, and I was helped out by a gentle tentacle-claw. It pushed me onto a prickly surface I initially wanted to escape from, but since it was a very warm surface, I slowly and carefully placed my arms upon it and held on. My suckers happily contracted to keep me from slipping, and soon my head was rubbed in a most pleasing manner. I voiced my delight and let go, plopping into the beast's hand.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly.

...

After I had been tickled and rubbed and played with by the friendly beasts, I was once again set into the portable pool of water I formerly thought of as a prison. Realizing now that it was actually a form of transportation meant for carrying my friends and myself to where the beasts roamed, I concluded that it was created for the purpose of ferrying playmates from one home to another!

Singing happily to myself as I watched my friends join me in the carrying-pool, I suddenly noticed something strange. A long, white tentacle-claw reached towards me, but it wasn't like that of the other beasts' at all. It was furrier, smaller, and strange. Quick as the deep current, the claw constricted itself around me and yanked me away from the others. I was placed into a small, transparent carrying-pool big enough only for me. Confused, I waved goodbye to my friends, but I wasn't sad.

Getting a good look at the creature carrying my little pool, I discovered it was much smaller than the others before it. It had large, green eyes, but it was built differently than the other beasts. It looked at me and purred, clicked, and rumbled strange noises that were clearly different from the grunts and squeaks I had heard before. I listened closely, carefully feeling my way through the vibrations the noises made in the water around me. Suddenly, I discovered I could understand this strange speech!

_My name is Momo._

"Hello, Momo," I said, delighted to have understood the introduction. "I am Pentae!"

Momo purred in acknowledgement. His eyes were friendly and warm, but he looked strangely stiff and alert when the other, different growling beasts came near to him. Momo chittered something to himself that I couldn't hear, covered me and my carrying-pool up in something soft and dark, and left as quickly as he had come. Having nothing better to do, I slept.

...

Apparently, Momo had a friend: Appa. If I thought the three beasts traveling with Momo were large before, well, they were nothing on Appa! But Appa was also a civilized creature, so I could understand his speech with little difficulty. I just had to be sure to listen closely to his fluctuating, tonal roars and growls, pick my way through his thick Sky accent, and pay attention to the ending snorts; it wasn't all that difficult once I got the hang of it.

The three of us got along swimmingly.

...

Momo was an excitable and adventurous type of individual. He was always chattering about the things he and Appa had seen, the places they had been, and the foods they had eaten. I listened, amazed, at the stories he told with such enthusiasm, and I admit, I was a little jealous. I told him I had never before been outside of my home, and he looked at me in utter disbelief. Momo couldn't comprehend the idea of settling down and staying in one place for an entire lifetime! I laughed at his silly expressions while he chattered something to Appa that I didn't quite catch. Momo's Land accent was just as thick as Appa's Sky accent, but Momo talked three times as fast!

I gazed off into the distance while they conversed, and I marveled at the beauty of the passing clouds. Momo had been kind enough to teach me about this outside place, and the clouds were my favorite part of it. I bubbled and spun around happily when I spotted a cloud that looked like me, but when both of my new friends turned to inspect me in a most critical fashion, I knew my life was about to get interesting.

...

Appa snuck away when the three beasts (Pbraang, Kapumtarra, and Parumbska as I was told by Momo; Aang, Ktrraa, and Snorkka by Appa) were sleeping. Appa was amazingly quiet, given his enormous size, but even though he made not a single sound to awaken anyone, the littlest human-beast seemed to instinctually know Appa was missing. The human whined brokenheartedly and stretched his arms toward Appa's sleeping-place. Appa gently snorted a long, soothing noise, and the one called Aang rolled over to rest peacefully.

We flew deep into the night sky, and I watched in awe as the wind-swept clouds floated closer and closer to us. We flew higher and higher, stretching towards the midnight sun, and Momo held me up so I could see the millions of other tiny suns dotting the darkened-blue sky. I had never imagined anything like the scene I was trying to take in; it was truly breathtaking. I happily danced beneath the sky, fancying myself in an ocean of openness, and I stretched out my arms to touch the clouds. It was colder than I had anticipated, but when I pulled my arms back in and shuddered, Momo brought me close until I was once again warm.

It was pleasing to be in the sky, and I was delighted to be with my friends. Momo chattered about this or that, explaining what was happening as we passed over lands of dark browns, blacks, and greens. In addition, Appa growled back in his low, friendly voice, usually with a witty quip or two at Momo's expense. Momo would then frown and retaliate with as much enthusiasm as he put into everything else, and their playful bickering could go on for quite the while if left uninterrupted!

Appa continued to soar high and low, flying between trees and buildings, threading a path between structures even bigger than he was! Looking up, I saw the twinkling suns, and looking down, I saw a world of strange color and shapes. As I watched in wonder, something small, blue, and mobile caught my eye. Peering more intensely into the shadows, I asked if Appa could get us closer to the moving blue-thing. Appa happily turned around to do another fly-by, and Momo tiptoed the two of us closer to the edge of the saddle so we could see better.

I pointed when I saw the blue-thing again, and Momo's ears perked up in recognition. It was Katara! I swam in happy little circles, proud that I had spotted a friend from so high up. Momo chittered along with me, and Appa made happy snorting sounds strongly reminiscent of laughter. He flew closer to Katara, and just as I was about to believe he would land, he abruptly pulled up and away. Confused, I turned and looked at a grim-faced Momo. I didn't know what had happened, so I looked back at Katara and discovered she wasn't alone; there was another creature hiding a little farther in the shadows. I squinted my eyes for a better look.

Her companion was fiercely ugly! It had large teeth projecting from its flattened face: a face covered in blue and white. I was thoroughly repulsed, but I kept watching it with piqued curiosity. Judging by Appa and Momo's reactions, it was obviously not a friend, but Katara did not seem afraid. To the contrary, she stood her ground, chin held high as the ugly beast removed itself from the shadows. It's body was black, and it was larger than Katara, but she never once appeared frightened. Instead, she reached out and touched the flat face; I was suddenly afraid its large teeth would bite her!

They didn't. But what happened was worse...much, much worse.

Katara's clawed tentacles ("Pfliingerrrs", Momo said) slid to the edge of the creature's blue and white cheeks. Katara stared into the thing's dark, hollow-looking eyes and spoke to it in a cautious, soothingly low voice. It spoke back, just as low, but somehow harsh and hissing. Shaking her head, Katara curled her fingers and lowered her arms, taking with them the beast's ugly face!

I screamed in terror at the sight. Underneath the beast's face was a mass of fleshy muscle, discolored, pink, and wrinkled. Horrified, I tried to swim away, but I remembered I was trapped; there was nowhere to swim to! In my panic, I stared at Momo for reassurance, for help, for _anything_! Momo stared back at me with his large, sparkling green eyes, and I could see pure laughter reflected in them. Confused, I settled down and waited for Momo to grant me an explanation.

_That's his _real_ face, Pentae, _Momo said while trying not to laugh aloud.

"Oh," I said. I turned around slowly and reassessed the situation. Sure enough, the larger creature looked like any other human, given what I presumed to be an old wound scarring half of its face. But, a marring of healed tissue was better than the illusion of raw, bleeding flesh!

Appa was restless and agitated. Apparently, he was uncomfortable with the identity of the newcomer, and Momo mentioned something about how we should really be going; getting ourselves caught by Katara this far from camp would obviously hold some serious repercussions for both of my friends. Since I didn't know what was happening, I had no complaints, and Appa was quick to head a course back toward Aang and Sokka. I looked over my shoulder as we departed, just to make sure Katara was okay. She had stepped in close to the newcomer, and she was folded in its embrace, her head tipped up as the other's came down...

Momo yanked my carrying-pool from its perch on the saddle and roughly flung me over to the other side of Appa's back. He pointed excitedly as we flew over a strange box filled with green things. They looked like giant algae balls to me, but Momo had no idea was an algae ball was, so I gathered they were not comparable items. Momo set me down and flew beneath Appa to land on the green things. He tossed a few at Appa, who growled happily, and then brought one back to where I was. It was large and wrinkly-looking, but Momo pulled off a thin piece of its outer skin and stuck it in his mouth. Chewing noisily, he tore a smaller piece off for me. He untied the closed end of my carrying-pool and let the thin, green thing settle on the surface of the water. I swam up to it, eyed it, and cautiously nibbled on a bit. It was good! I hummed happily as I ate it, and Momo laughed when a human dressed in a similar green ran up to the box, peered in, and held his head, moaning something I didn't understand.

We made it back to the place where we had left Aang, Sokka, and Katara; however, one sleeping space remained empty. Momo and Appa looked at each other, but decided against going back for Katara; they weren't supposed to know she was missing, after all. I wasn't so sure.

"Wouldn't she have noticed you two were gone when she got up to leave?" I asked, worried.

Appa looked contemplative for a moment and Momo fell silent. I mulled my own question over in my mind, but I couldn't see how Katara would have missed something as large as a missing bison. Finally, Momo reached a conclusion: he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, if Katara had discovered Appa was missing and thought it problematic, she would have woken Aang and there would have been a fantastic ruckus while everybody searched for Appa. Since all was still quiet, however, it either meant Katara wasn't worried about Appa flying around by himself at night, or it meant she hadn't noticed he was missing. Either way, there was nothing to worry about. Since Appa also agreed with the lemur's logic, I settled back down and swished happily before falling asleep.

I was discovered by Sokka in the morning. Katara had come back safely sometime before dawn; I didn't even notice her return. Aang initially seemed upset that I was stuck in such a small carrying-pool so far away from my home, but he perked up when I blew some bubbles to show I was happy. Aang laughed, rubbed my head, and returned me to my home waters.

Floating in the comforting currents, I waved goodbye to Appa and Momo for as long as I could see them. They waved back, so when I turned around to navigate the rest of my way through the sewers, I did so with my heart held high and wrapped securely in the comfort of a happy fog. I wondered if I would ever see my friends again, but the thought didn't bring me down; somehow, I felt assured that I would.

It had been fun, adventuring around the outside world with Appa and Momo, but I was pleased to finally snuggle myself in the comfort of my own warm crevasse. Sighing happily to myself, I watched the familiar currents flow by while the sewer's sweet lullaby sang me to sleep. I dreamed that night of wonderful things: of flying adventures; of fluffy clouds; of friendly humans; and of course, of my friends, Appa and Momo.

...

A/N: Written for a dear friend of mine on dA, ShadowedDream. Her request: "Zutara or the adventures of Appa and Momo in the Ba Sing Sei? The adventures of the Pentapus? I'm not picky!"

I haphazardly tossed all three ingredients into a blender. :) I hope my AU timeline didn't bother anybody; I smudged Omashu and Ba Sing Sei into one plot-blob and pretended their two timelines could fly together for the duration of this fanfic.


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